Rebirthing A King
by Raevick
Summary: In the land of the pages, a dark lord has risen to power and claimed the throne. Many have tried but all have failed, and now one more unknowingly attempts to change the fate of this unseen world. PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW
1. New Beginnings

Prologue: New Beginnings

In the land of the pages, deep within the lore of old, there exists a world. This world acts as a bridge, connecting all stories that have ever been written, ever been published, ever been thought of. In this land the stories come to life, they have personalities, feelings, actions. The characters in these books interact with each other but also with a species that is only known to exist in this world.

The books are able to communicate and socialize just as a human being does, they are able to express themselves and have emotions. When books are born they take upon them the genre and quality of there parents. Books that share a single genre and quality (hardback or paperback) are referred to as Clean Bounds. These books take up about three fourths of the population and are never looked down upon. They are the judges, the rulers, the teachers, the politicians, in a sense.

A smaller subset of books, known as the Satires, take up the rest of the space, and that is exactly what most think they do. Satires are the lowest of the low, the dirt under the dirt. They are the slaves to the Clean Bounds, completing any task given to them without hesitation for if they even thought about a rebellion, that book would be recycled immediately. Satires are only kept around for the sake of having someone to kick.

For many years, this world was ruled by one who is known only as The Pagemaster, one who is keeper and caretaker of the books. He watched over the books, making sure that no outside forces interfered with their way of life. He would clean and polish the books, making sure that stories and their characters would never overstep their bounds and intrude into the land of another story. Truly, all was well in the world of the books, that is until one boy came along.

In the world of the books there are often visitors, boys and girls, men and women who are transported into the world to seek a companion book, one which they will read over and over without growing tired of it. One such moment, a boy named Blaine was brought into the world of the books. In his search for an exit (and little to his knowledge a partner) he stumbled upon a source not known by any books which granted him unlimited power over the element of fire.

With this new found power, Blaine sought to take the throne from The Pagemaster, wishing to be able to shift and destroy stories at his command. Sadly, the victory was all too easy to achieve, and after razing the former ruler, he took his place upon his seat of power. With the books at his command he began to notice just how disgusting the entire prospect of having control over something with its own will was.

Seeking the one who gave him the power over the flames, Blaine persuaded the person to allow him power over the other elements. Being The Pagemaster, it was impossible to be refused this request, however, the source only obliged to an extent because, as they said, "That much power alone would collapse the body in on itself, but with the power of The Pagemaster already residing in your body, it may spell the end for our world."

With this Blaine decided to create a new race of books. Taking the dead, withering, sick, and worn out books and infusing them partially with his power over fire and his newly received power over the shadows, he created a race of winged books that acted as his personal army. These "Lectros", as he called them, were more powerful than any book previously known to the world. Although they had no elemental power, as did their master, they were much tougher than ever thought of before, their spines connected with the dark powers.

The Lectros captured and imprisoned all the Clean Bounds, locking them away in the dungeons of the Castle of the Pagemaster. The Clean Bounds were tortured, beaten, starved, and in some cases, killed in order for Blaine to prove that they were no longer under their own rule with a helpful guardian to watch over them, they were now his slaves and his alone.

Deciding that they were of no threat, seeing as how their spirits had already been broken by their previous masters and the fact that he also considered them less of worth than the Clean Bounds, Blaine decided against imprisoning the Satires, figuring that it would be helpful to have them keep the land in shape while their wildest dreams of what would happen to their masters was being played out.

Since the time Blaine became The Pagemaster, the world has summoned many others in an attempt to receive a new ruler. Although all of those chosen have tried with all of their might, mind, and zeal, they all have failed, even with the help of their companions. Blaine has ruled over the land for many years, now being a young adult. The world is crumbling away at his feet and it is in dire need of someone to come and rescue it and its inhabitants from their wretched king, and the time for this person to appear and relinquish Blaine's rule is fast approaching!

Next Chapter: A Hero Is Chosen!


	2. A Hero Is Chosen!

Chapter 1: A Hero Is Chosen!

The light flooded into the room through the blinds, making every dust particle in its line of fire glow like tiny fireflies rushing in and out of visibility. The small beams fell upon a dark brown floor which made the gunk on it more prominent. Inside the various baskets and boxes were dirty clothes that stank of 30 men's gym clothes, trash that had food remaining in it from meals long since forgotten, comic books that had in its ranks some that had been read so much the pages were worn out while others had been opened only once, if even that, and old movies like "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory", "A Streetcar Named Desire", and "The Wizard Of Oz", all of which had a thick layer of dust resting upon the paper sleeves that held them.

"This room is disgusting!" came a shrill voice that rang out over the mountains of trash and rested upon the ears of a young man who had just awoken from his deep sleep. "How can you live in this room? You would never be able to leave!"

Brushing his long brown hair to one side, Rhett Samuels said in an extremely monotone voice that showed his displeasure, "Or Maybe it's just to keep you out." Rhett gave her a leave-now-or-forever-hold-your-piece look that made his sister cringe for half a second. Eyeing the floor for a safe passage to the large hole that would mean escape from this house-keepers hell, she bolted out the door, forgetting to shut it behind her.

Rhett slowly got out of bed and rubbed his eyes. He had lived with this mess for so long that he no longer needed to watch where he was going in order to leave his living area. There was a sharp contrast between his room and the rest of the house. While his room was so dark you could develop photos in it, the rest of the house gleamed with cleanliness. The walls were a bright yellow with white base boards, photographs dotting the paint in clever little patterns.

The hard wood floor extended throughout the entire house, being covered every once in a while by rugs or chairs. A large counter, which connected the living room and the kitchen, held a huge plasma screen T.V. Sunlight shown through the open windows and a cool breeze made Rhett shiver in his shorts and undershirt. The floor underneath him made a slight squishing sound as his bare feet slightly stuck to the floor, no doubt from something he tracked in from his room.

At the counter in the kitchen his mother was just finishing cleaning up dishes from a breakfast Rhett had no idea about, all the while his sister clinging to his mother's side. "Why didn't you call me in?" Rhett asked. He was a little angry that they hadn't even taken the time to let him know they were eating a warm breakfast. _Now I have to suffer with cold cereal_ he thought as he pulled out some Frosted Flakes from the cupboard.

"We did call you sweetie," He hated her calling him that, "but you wouldn't wake up, your father even pulled off your sheets." His mother explained. She was the classic mother; short, curly, blonde hair, a yellow dress to match the walls, a white apron that made her red lipstick and green earrings to gleam. He hated seeing her.

"No you didn't, I would have remembered." The milk poured out over his cereal, slightly splashing on the freshly cleaned counter.

"Think what you will sweetie." She said as she hurriedly wiped up the newly formed dots of white on the black marble surface. "Your father and I have a request for you dear."

Rhett sat down at the table and shoved a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. The cold came as a shock; it made his heart skip a beat and his temper to rise. Chewing slowly, he picked up another spoonful, waiting for it to stop dripping before he made any attempt of putting the round piece of silver into his mouth. "Yes, I will move out, thank you for asking me to." He said in a mean tone that he knew would strike a chord in his mother's heart, he knew how much she hated seeing her baby boy grown up.

"No, you still have a year before that is an option," She quickly said, partially to shrug it off and partially to get away from that topic, "We need you to run to the Library and return Helen's books." Rhett slumped his head towards the table in an obvious form of saying he didn't want to.

"Can't she just go?"

"No, her bike needs to be fixed. We discussed it and we will even let you take the car to it." A Year ago he would have already been out the door. He remembered the first time he drove the Miata, the wind flowed through his hair, his friends laughed at some stupid joke they told, the freedom, the willingness to get away, the want to succeed…

That was all in the past now though. "Sorry, no dice." He said as he stood up from the table and dumped his half-eaten cereal into the sink which his mother quickly washed.

"What if we let you get a book while you're there?" Her voice had a sick desperation in it. He could tell she needed him to do this, he knew that if he pushed just a little longer…

"Yippy." Slightly raising his arms in a mock excitement, Rhett turned on the spot and headed for his room.

"How about we un-ground you!" She called out fast, afraid she was going to lose him to the dark and abysmal pit in which he rested night after night with no care for anyone but himself. Unable to see his mother due to the wall next to the T.V., Rhett gave a small smirk.

"Alright, you won me over!" He yelled as he walked into his room, "Give me a minute to change!" Minutes later Rhett emerged from his upright sarcophagus, his chest covered with a semi- tight black t-shirt, very dark blue pants and black sneakers with bright white laces. "Ok, I'm ready."

His mother had apparently been waiting at the door. She held two books in her arms which she quickly passed into his arms. Rhett would have retaliated if he had not seen the key that lay strewn across the top of the stack in his arms. Without another word he walked out the front door towards the red Mazda Miata that was parked in the driveway of his house.

_I forgot how much I love to hear you purr_ he thought to himself as the car started up and he drove off, away from the home which he hated. _Maybe there is something good on the radio _came the thought as the boredom quickly destroyed his love of driving. Twisting the dial to all of the usual stations only to hear either an upbeat pop song or static, he turned off the device.

Needing something to do, Rhett looked frantically around the car for something to put into the CD player, but to no avail. Frustration was an understatement, as was hatred, oh how he despised being bored. He slammed his fist onto the passenger seat cushion which made his hand sting. He had forgotten about the books!

Flipping over the books he saw the titles, "Alice In Wonderland" and "A History Of Mythology". Wow_, that would put me to sleep faster than watching a chess game_, lucky for him though he had just pulled up to the library. Its outside walls were made with a stone that had a yellow tint to it. Huge stairs led up to two giant doors with giant brass doorknobs. This _place is probably older than the town itself_ was all he could think as he entered the giant room which had a large front desk.

At last he saw a metal bin that had large white writing on it that read "Books-In". They clanged as Rhett dropped the books into the slot underneath the writing. "So I guess I'll just trash all these books here on this desk since no one is around!" He yelled in an attempt to get some attention from the people who seemed non-existent in the empty room. A frown formed on his face, "Here I go! I'm gonna do it!" No response.

Picking up a book, he pulled out his lighter and lit it up, holding the flame directly underneath the old binding. With another inch the book would be ablaze. "Say goodbye 'The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn'!" Just as he was about to burn the book, a flash of light came from a staircase directly to his left. Without any further motivation he turned towards it, fists raised ready to fight whatever it was that was approaching.

"Hello?" Rhett's voice waivered a little bit, "Is anyone there?" A fear he did not know he had began to rise up to his throat. His body shook with fear, but noticing what he was doing, he summoned up his anger. "You better get up here before I kick your trash!" No response came from the stairs that were previously burning with a split-second of blinding light.

Rhett made his way towards the staircase, fists still raised in case something jumped up at him. _I thought carpet didn't creak_, he thought as he hit the last step and rounded the corner. A small hallway led to another turn, its walls lined with books. As he passed, he saw titles he recognized like "A Tale Of Two Cities", "To Kill A Mocking Bird", "Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone", and "The Pelican Brief".

Rounding the corner he saw it was a large kids' section. The walls were lined with paper thin books and in the center of the room were a large bookshelf filled with what appeared at a distance to be copies of all the other kids' books. Out of nowhere he began to shake, almost as if winter had suddenly appeared in only that little room. Fear accompanied the frictionless shivering.

"Who the heck is…" Rhett's voice was lost in the bright flash and loud bang that suddenly appeared behind the bookcase. Everything went blank for a second, nothing was real and nothing wasn't. All of his senses were flooded with such feelings that he went numb the second the light flashed.

As it faded Rhett found he was on the floor, his body was sweating profusely, and he had apparently begun crying. Standing up, he wiped his eyes and realized that his eyes had just watered to the point it flowed down his cheeks and that he was not in fact crying. As the library came back into focus he saw that it was just as he had left it, the kids' section lay untouched by anything natural or supernatural.

Unsure of what to do, Rhett took a step into the room. As soon as the sole of his converse touched the blue carpet a deep, low growl shook his body. It sounded like how he had always pictured a Minotaur to sound, only more frightening. Curiosity trumped caution and he took another step into the bright room. Another growl echoed through the library and, at last, Rhett saw the culprit of the noise.

Out from behind the bookcase walked a creature that had the build of a bull, with horns that curved down towards his mouth and feet that were in fact giant claws. Its whole body was colored in an assortment of reds, blues, yellows, greens and purples. If he had seen a kid wearing those colors he would have instantly made a homosexual joke, but with this monster he could not even force himself to whimper.

Everything after that happened in a flash. The monster ran at Rhett with speed that was similar to a Cheetah. No thoughts past through his mind, his body worked on its own, running away in the opposite direction. He rounded the corner and turned slightly, seeing that the color was splashing up onto the books in the hallway, giving them a more defined color.

He ran as fast as he could up the stairs. Even though he was skinny, he was not a runner and as such, was already worn out. As Rhett reached the top of the stairs he made an instant turn towards the large doors. _At last, salvation_, but as he yanked on the door to open it, it didn't budge. "No, no, no, no, no, no," Rhett said under his breath so fast the words blended together as he frantically pulled at the door, and as he turned around, he saw the giant beast leaping at him, its jaws aimed at his chest, "NO!!!"

Next Chapter: Silence There Forever More


	3. Silence There Forever More

Chapter 2: Silence There Forever More

Darkness surrounded him, wrapping its cold, deathless and lifeless arms almost lovingly around his struggling body. Rhett fought at hard as he could, kicking and punching at the utter nothing that was all around him. _Are my eyes even open?_ Rhett asked himself as he saw that no matter how many times he felt his eyes open, the same blinding darkness greeted him. Just as Rhett was beginning to lose all hope of ever escaping, a sort of pressure pushed against his stomach. The pressure caused his lungs to expel all the air that had been stored in them, his heart to skip a beat and his muscles to go limp.

In one moment he was fighting for his life and in the next he was being pulled as if through a keyhole, his body folding in on itself just like a piece of paper folded in half. Rhett, still being awake, felt excruciating pain, so much so that he blacked out for a little bit, this being quite a feet considering there was no light anywhere at all for him to notice a dark darkness to black out into.

A drop of rain fell upon his hand, its liquidity bringing with it a shivering cold that heralded the beginnings of a fresh storm arising above him. As he opened his eyes, nothing made sense. A massive blur of contrasting colors of red, orange, black and grey were all that could be seen. Rhett tried to move his head but it was as if it had been belted down so he could only look towards his side. It was hard to breath on the cold, hard floor, especially after his recent experience.

Slowly but surely the picture became clear. A dark, sloped hillside led out towards the distant horizon, dead plants dotting its surface like acne on a youth's face. At the horizon lay an almost wall of mountains which seemed to be spurting out lava into the sky, although after examining it further, he realized it was just he light of the setting sun. Rhett tried to stand, but his legs were just too weak to even support kneeling, so he settled with sitting Indian style.

The ground underneath him was surprisingly hard, almost like it was made of wood or a hard plastic. Looking at the surrounding ground, he realized he was sitting upon a giant book. His adrenaline pumping, Rhett's legs became revitalized as he jumped up, unsure of this new scenery. He turned to face where he had previously looked, and, to his great astonishment and similar horror, realized the landscape leading away was also bunches of books, some small, some large, some stacked at an angle to create ledges and slopes.

Rhett backed away slowly, almost as if thinking if he was careful he could turn around and be in his room again, it was certainly dark enough to resemble it. With each step he became more and more certain that this new environment was an actual reality and not a figment of his creative imagination, but kept denying it in order to pretend that he had not lost his mind. Taking a step, he found the ledge, but was unable to step forward before falling off onto another book.

The air knocked out of him as he landed flat on his back. A jolt of pain hit him as he was reminded of the experience in that void of nothing. Giving up all hope, Rhett stared blankly at the dark, grey, cloudy sky, wondering what he had done to deserve this cruel destiny the Fates had rested upon him. _I've always been the one mistreated and now this happens to me! What about them? Why don't they have to go through this crap instead of sitting at home talking about how much better they are than me?_

Small footsteps were suddenly apparent to his lazy ears. The pitter-pattering of leather of wood was so obvious he was surprised he hadn't heard it before, but he didn't care any more. As Rhett began imagining what life could be like here, the walking stopped abruptly. Confused Rhett turned his head up so it was facing behind him, and he saw a small book, its brown leather binding having a red trim, its cover having on it a picture of a sword, the pages bent and missing edges were obvious, its eyes gave a sharp stare of questioning and its arms and legs…

"HOLY COW! STAY BACK!" Rhett jumped up and held his fists out to this strange being, not sure whether it would fight back or not. _WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!?!_

"Easy my friend, I am simply here to offer you any help you may need. I saw that fall you just had, I can help with that." Its voice sounded like it had been through tough times, but was obviously well educated, almost like a college professor in a gang.

"First, what are you?!" Rhett yelled out as the book began to turn away from him. Rhett had so many questions but, for fear of his life, wanted to know if this stranger was of any threat.

"Ah, where are my manners? The name is Silence. I am the Satire which resides in Section 43-F. Now please follow me." It turned again, leaving Rhett more puzzled than he was before.

"Wait! What's a Satire? What are you talking about, Section? Hey, LISTEN TO M…"

Rhett couldn't get another word out; Silence had turned and called out to him, "If you wish to live through the night, I suggest you follow me. It's not safe for you humans to be out after dark, he will find you." And with that, Silence turned and began to walk away, his stride reminding him of an ancient knight, pride and honor streaming out of each footstep like a popped water balloon.

_What should I do? If I follow he could like eat me or make me work or something, but what if he's right? What if I'll die if I stay here?_ Rhett's mind was all befuddled. He wasn't sure how to proceed. _Eh, I'll take my chances here_, he thought as he began to sit down, but just as he did, the crash of thunder came from the distance. That was the straw that broke the camels back, running off towards this stranger known as Silence.

Rhett ran across the hard ground, stumbling every few steps because of the mismatched books. Eventually he saw a stack of books, a small door way being made by a few small ones towards the bottom of the pile, with the flickering light of a candle shining through, penetrating the night. As he walked in, he saw a small wooden table against the far wall with a lamp on the wall above it. The walls all resembled library shelves, books lining the dark shadows. And there, on one of the two chairs at the table, sat Silence.

"Ah, my dear boy! I'm so glad to have you here with us! I was worried he had already gotten you!" Silence stood up and shook Rhett's hand vigorously, making his shoulder hurt due to the fact that Silence went up only to his knees.

"Ok, who is this 'he' you keep talking about and what is a 'Satire' and what…"

"Please son, sit down with me. I will explain everything to you." With this, Rhett sat down, eyeing the beast which he just met. "Now, tell me my dear lad, what is your name?"

"Rhett Samuels, what are you?" Rhett said with an obvious annoyance in his voice, almost as if he believed he could scam this person for money.

"Ah, Rhett Samuels. Figured it would be as much." Silence said, ignoring Rhett's question as he got up and began thumbing through one of the books that was directly behind him.

"What do you mean, 'figured as much'?" Rhett was getting worried at the mysteries this monster was portraying in front of him. "Where am I?"

"You my dear boy are in the Land Of The Pages. It is a world connecting all… you know what, if I explain it I will just ruin it, here." He said as he pulled open a book and put it in front of Rhett, "Read this."

Rhett read the words presented toward him. He read of Blaine and his powers, how he had enslaved the 'Clean Bounds', how their world was in utter chaos. Rhett did not believe a word of this until he came upon the prophecy of a boy coming and freeing the world. The light turned on, all the pieces connected, and Rhett understood.

"So where are we?" Rhett said, his smugness leaving instantly and was replaced with a want to know, even though he was still just as angry that this had happened to him and he didn't believe it was real, but a fantastic story he made up. _There's no way I coincidentally came at this time._

"As I said, the Land Of The Pages. We reside in the land which connects all worlds. Come, let me show you." Silence looked attentively at his bookcase wall, took out a book, and walked out. Confused, Rhett followed, not sure what new surprises he subconsciously made up.

As Rhett was just about to leave, he heard Silence, "Stop! He will know you're here, just please wait a moment." With that, Silence turned and opened the book. From its pages jumped a large expanse of forest with mushrooms as trees, giant caterpillars, and the face of a cat jumping in and out of view. It was all enclosed in a doorway which covered the one leading to the outside world.

Rhett was shocked; he had no idea about what this was. Slowly, he reached his finger out to touch the image, and just before he could, it began to ripple like disturbed water. He jumped back against the wall, truly terrified, that is until Silence walked out of the ripple and into the house. "Welcome to my Library, or shall I say, the only Library left in the land."

A quizzical look covered Rhett's face and before he could ask the question, Silence went on, "When Blaine took control, the Lectros destroyed most of the Libraries in the land. While it is possible to walk to the different worlds in books, it was far easier to open the Library corresponding to that world and quite literally teleport there."

"You can't open a library." Rhett stuttered, attempting some form of argument in order to fight the pressing idea that all this was true.

"We call books that do not have any life Libraries. Now please, step through to the world ahead." Silence held his arms out towards the still image that looked more like a painting that anything else. Rhett slowly stepped forward, hand outstretched. _Maybe just a poke to see if I can actually go through_ he thought as his body got ever closer to the frightening light that glowed a bright green from the grass.

As his finger touched the doorway, it seemed to stretch, grabbing the tip of his finger. Rhett panicked, but as he tried to pull his hand away, the image climbed farther up his hand and arm. It had a hold of him like it had hidden clamps, and before he knew it, Rhett was being pulled in closer to the world, just like a calf being roped by a cowboy. He breathed heavily, searching for oxygen just like he was drowning, and as all of his body went behind in the goo besides his head, he thought of how he thought Silence had killed him. With one final breath, Rhett went under, but instead of finding water or lack of air, warm summer air greeted his skin as birds and bugs chirping in the distance met his ears.

Rhett crumpled to the ground, his body worn out from the immense amount of energy he used in trying to escape, out walked Silence from the doorway which shown the inside of the house, "Welcome to Wonderland."

Next Chapter: Playing With The Queen Of Hearts


	4. Playing With The Queen Of Hearts

Chapter 3: Playing With The Queen Of Hearts

His fingers gripped the grass underneath him as if he were grabbing someone's hair; its green surface still slightly glistened with slowly evaporating dew. Rhett pushed himself off his stomach, taking in the scene around him. Based upon everything he had ever heard about it, Rhett was sure that this is what the Garden of Eden must have looked like… _minus of course the giant mushrooms and caterpillars wearing glasses_, he thought as he sat Indian style.

"Ah, Copernicus my good fellow," Silence walked quickly past Rhett towards the Caterpillar, hand outstretched in anticipation of the form of contact most commonly used in businesses.

"Silence my friend from days of old," the Caterpillar called out, his voice suddenly making apparent the wrinkles that littered a previously smooth skinned insect. "What great and marvelous thing hast brought thou to this world in which I reside?"

"Oh, just showing around this young…" But Silence could not finish any more of his sentence. In a flash Rhett had stood up and kicked at an ant which screamed out like a dying horse and scurried away.

"You said Wonderland right? Like the Disney movie? Like the fat Queen of Hearts?" At this question Copernicus' mouth dropped open and quickly looked all around as if there would be a sign that clearly read "Spies Right Here".

"Movie…" Silence searched his mind for half a second before answering in a rather I-understand-but-at-the-same-time-don't manner. "You may have the misconception of there being more than one story. Well, now would be as good a time as any." Silence sat down on a pebble which, at this size, resembled a large boulder. Rhett looked around but begrudgingly decided once again on the soft grass under his feet. "Because many authors decided to plagiarize works and make new adaptations of previous stories, a system was created to weed out these books. While they still exist in there library form in this world, they are otherwise inaccessible because the original story is the only one that takes up actual space in the Land Of The Pages."

Rhett was more confused at this explanation than he was before. He felt as a five year old would if they had just sat down on the day of the final exam of an Astronomy 2010 class. Cocking one eyebrow upwards so high that it felt like it was on top of his head and pushing his hands out in front of him, he replied, "Meaning…"

"Walking to this world we are in is indeed possible in the easiest way but a direct path of travel to you unimaginative and delusional 'Disney World' is an impossible feet to accomplish" Copernicus cut in, clearly sickened by Rhett's lack of knowledge, but more so his lack of proper attire and pronunciation. The light bulb clicked on, and Rhett pictured an old map with a giant land labeled 'Wonderland'.

"Ok… So now what?"

"Young lad, mine knowledge and understanding makes it apparent to me that thou needs to approach the Kings and Queens." Copernicus once again said, his vast years of experience ringing out like church bells.

"But, there's only one Queen, isn't there?" Rhett was once again befuddled with this new information.

"Ugh, we will talk on the way," Silence quickly said as he buried his head in his hand, then turned to the Caterpillar, "If I may ask you where we may find their royal highnesses?" No sooner had he spoken these words than the giant insect had pointed in a direction directly to Rhett's left. With one final handshake the two were off. As Rhett followed Silence a bit far off, he heard one last statement from his guide's old comrade.

"The lands which thou will face are both treacherous and deteriorating, make it known to few what a great mission you wish to accomplish and you will find success!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rhett asked, once again as confused as someone who was just asked to program a super computer but who majored in cooking.

"Exactly what was said, now hustle up boy, our journey will be quick and we have a great need to get your facts straight!" Rhett had fallen further behind than he had previously thought, the walking book looked very small, and so he was forced to run fast towards the moving anthology. "Now, what was your question?"

"Why…did he… say… 'Kings and… Queens?" Rhett said as fast as he could, but his lack of exercise made him very short breathed.

"Ah yes, you are stuck to your Disney views on things. Well do you recall how she had card soldiers?" Silence said in a sudden realization of the problems presented.

"Yes I… do." Rhett was still trying to calm down, his breath seemed to get further and further away the more he tried to catch it.

"Well it is ludicrous to think that one Queen should have control of all thirty-eight cards, so thusly there are four Kings and four Queens to govern them. While it is true that the Queen of Hearts is more ruthless than the other royal members, she does not have control of the entire Card Army." Silence said this as if he had been reading it off of a card, all the while Rhett's mind was opened to this new information, fully accepting it because _it's just another version of a story and I'm sure that they're cutting out the tumor in the real world as I speak_, or so Rhett thought.

Almost as if it were some form of magic, a small garden emerged from behind the tree line, its freshly mowed grass being surrounded by a large shrub wall. Towards the opposite end of the large expanse were eight thrones, each of which seated eight human figures, their clothing having the same color a design as the suit of card which they ruled over. As Rhett and Silence stepped through into the area they saw an army of Card soldiers lining the sides, making a direct path the rulers.

Rhett and Silence walked forward with slow, deliberate steps, everything had quieted down, and even the birds which previously seemed so powerful in their volume now had died down as if all had been captured by hunters. The air seemed almost to have visible the tension which rested upon Rhett. Silence acted as if there was no difference to his previous engagement with his friend.

As the two approached the Kings and Queens, the King of Spades said in a tone that marked him as obvious royalty, "Who approaches the Rulers of Cards?"

Silence knelt down as far as he could, (which to Rhett didn't seem to make much of a difference) and pulled Rhett down with him. Bowing his head, Silence declared, "Great nobility, I am Silence, a Satire residing in Section 43-F in the Land Of The Pages and this is my partner Rhett Samuels, a human." At this last word the royalty all gasped, and Rhett felt sixteen sets of eyes fall dead upon him.

"Rhett Samuels, we have not had a human visitor in some time. We are more than welcome to have you with us. What, may I ask, brings you to our humble abode?" Another voice came which was a women's, Rhett being unable to see who because of his bowed head.

"We seek advice on how best to proceed with our quest." Silence proclaimed proudly.

"Stand our guests and enjoy a conversation with us as equals." At this the two adventurers stood up, Rhett seeing that not only were the Kings and Queens staring, but also all of the Card soldiers.

"If I may my dear brother," The King of Hearts addressed the former speaker, the King of Clubs, "I would suggest that they visit the world of Treasure Island. A pirate's life would be good preparation for his future pursuits."

"I must say," The Queen of Spades inquired, "that the world of the Greek God's would do great wonders for him and his…troubles"

Rhett was slightly offended at this. "Hey! What do you mean trou…"

"I must say that by visiting with the Three Musketeers he could…" The King of Hearts piped up before being cut off.

"Moby Di…"

"Hansel and Grete…"

"Twenty Thousand Leagues Under Th…"

"Enough!" A slithery sounding voice filled the air and cut off all vocalizations in their entirety. Out from behind the shrub wall behind the thrones flew high a crimson color book with eyes and a mouth on the spine facing forward just like Silence, however its eyes were pure black and its mouth had two large fangs hanging down from its top jaw. Its hands and feet were comprised of menacing claws which looked as if they were able to tear flesh from muscle and a pair of withered looking wings on its sides gave it the ability to fly. "No one shall assist this human. We will take him to The Master. The Master will know what to do with him."

The voice pierced Rhett's ears and in an unannounced question he looked at Silence, asking if it was in fact a Lectro. To his great horror Silence nodded and Rhett looked up at the monster that was just landing, a fear filling him he hadn't felt since the rainbow creature attacked him. Rhett unconsciously slunk behind the book, his height not being of much good to him here.

"We cannot allow you to take this boy. He is of too great importance to us to be simply…" The King of Spades spoke clearly; an obvious tremble was almost well enough hidden behind his masculine voice.

"Oh shut up and let them take him! He'll be killed anyway before long! Just save us the trouble of being scourged for this one!" The Queen of Hearts yelled aloud. The royalty began fighting once again and as they did, the Lectro walked like a serpent towards the Queen of Hearts.

The sound of metal being unsheathed came to Rhett's ears and he realized Silence had opened himself, taken out a sword, and had looped it around himself. "Watch yourself." He whispered, and as he did the Lectro leapt at the Queen, stabbing its hand into the chest of the woman. With a gasp she bent over in her throne, but instead of blood showing from the wound, a dark hole swirled and then closed up. As the Queen sat back up her eyes were black, a definite smoke slightly fell from them.

After this had happened, the Lectro held its hand out towards the Card soldiers, a black mist ejecting out over the masses. "All of you capture the human! Kill the Satire!" At this the soldiers pounced forward along with the Queen. Rhett was sure he was dead, but when he looked up from his feeble position he saw all of the Royalty fighting back their previous servants with staffs emblazoned with the symbol of their house. As a card would attack, they would easily block the attempt and use the momentum to spin the staff and attack back.

Silence jumped in the air on top of the cards, parrying jabs at him with his small weapon. Rhett was so fixated on these scenes he was almost stabbed in the face by a three of clubs who had somehow broken through. Rhett ducked down and punched the card in the stomach, then punched it across the face. Falling to the ground like a napkin being dropped, Rhett picked up its spear and looked around.

A lone card approached the Queen of Diamonds from behind and Rhett acted on instinct. Running with spear held like a sword, he swung in a large arc towards the enemy, who heard the attack and blocked the spear with its own mace made of diamonds. Rhett felt awkward holding the weapon and it showed as he tried once again to swing it as a sword, but when it was blocked the card knocked the weapon from his hands. The force knocked him to the ground and, as he saw the card raise its weapon to give a blow that would, in the best circumstances knock him out but could very well kill him, Rhett realized something.

"HOLY CRAP THIS IS REAL!!!" He screamed as loud as he could and in desperation kicked the card in the shins. Seeming unaffected, the card proceeded on, forcing Rhett to quickly crawl like a crab backwards until he was against the wall. The mace hit right next to his foot as he was trapped against this barrier. As the card raised its mace one last time Rhett screamed out, "SILENCE!"

Almost as if by divine intervention the card was cut diagonally, its eyes rolling to the back of its head, and as the two pieces slowly floated down to the ground, Silence stood behind it, holding the pose which he had when he sliced the card half a second before. "We really need to teach you how to fight, I mean NEED to."

"Hahaha, very freaking funny." Rhett said, attempting to remain in the image of 'cool kid'. "How do we get out of this mess?"

"If we can kill that Lectro," Silence pointed with his sword towards the Lectro which was flying in and out of the fray, every once and a while having a small gash which was quickly healed, "Then all the rest of them will go back to normal. I'm trying not to kill any and I suggest you do the same. We want this army ready when they're back to normal."

Rhett was a little stunned at the prospect that he would have to kill something. _Fantasizing about killing a teacher to get out of a test is one thing, killing an actual being though… _A smooth metal filled the gaping hole in his right hand and Rhett saw the spear he previously had, the spear head in the symbol of the clubs symbol. "Go my boy," Silence said in a tired manner as he turned and blocked a sword with the handle in the shape of a heart, "We need you!"

Rhett ran through the crowd, hoping against hope that he would be able to remain unseen if he moved fast enough. As he moved through the group, he tightened his grip on his weapon, realizing that it was kill or be killed. He stopped, looking up he saw the Lectro swooping out of the battle. _This is my chance; if I can get my aim right then this will all be over._ He thought as he mounted the spear, ready to throw it.

Holding his breath, Rhett let fly the long rod and as it flew, the trajectory of his target made it apparent that he had succeeded. As the spear pierced the Lectro clean through, it gasped, then fell to the ground. Just before it would have hit the head of some cards it disintegrated into a cloud of crimson particles, and in that same moment, all fighting ended in an eerie way. Confused and embarrassed, the cards helped up there fallen comrades and seated their leaders atop their thrones, including the Queen of Hearts who had received a rather large smack across the face from a staff which had the symbol of a Diamond.

"My boy you did it!" Silence said excitedly as he approached the still stunned human who remained staring at the spot where his victory vanished away. "What is wrong?"

"The Letcro…"

"Ah ah ah, Lectro." Silence interrupted to correct the mispronunciation.

Obliging, Rhett continued, "It vanished into thin air!"

"Yes, they are already dead; the only thing holding their bodies together is their life force. Once that leaves… well, you saw." A silence came between the two of them, partly from respect for the fallen and partly to contemplate their next move. Noticing that it had gone on for much too long, Silence came in, "Come, I know exactly where we need to go now."

He turned towards the entrance they had come through but Rhett remained standing, now looking at the ground and hands at his side as a Marine does while at attention. The mass chaos around him resembled his own minds lack of order as thoughts such as _How could I have killed, Will I be killed, _and_ What if I never escape_ dominated his attention.

Walking back to the troubled youth, Silence took Rhett's hand and looked up at him, "Come son, let's get you trained for anything." At this the two of them walked away from the devastation they left and, as if he had read Rhett's mind, said, "Don't worry, all things eventually get better."

Next Chapter: All For One, None For All


	5. All For One, None For All

Chapter 4: All For One, None For All

Walking through the doorway was just as challenging as it had been the first time. Rhett's body ached from the amount of force he had used attempting this time to push his body through faster. The weird goo from the portal to Wonderland made it seem like he was pushing his way through wet wood, the pull he had experienced from his first encounter with the strange matter seeming to be nonexistent, begging the question of whether it had all been in his head or not.

Silence walked through the picture just as coolly as before, this time his hands were behind his back. Rhett sat up Indian style and stared down at his hands. The icy wind that blew through the shack seemed to penetrate every corner of the solid looking shelter, but Rhett was in such a deep amount of thought that, while pains that would be like his skin crawling off and his eyes turning to ice cubes should have been existent, the only thing Rhett felt was a deep emptiness that haunted his mind.

"Cheer up boy." Silence came over and lifted Rhett's chin up, but its kindness was only met with a swift rebuttal that caused its hand to swing downward as the boy's head faced even lower this time. The dirt floor made the mood of the cabin even drearier as Rhett's thoughts switched from self-turmoil to self-loathing. "Not to be unkind but we need to get you trained."

Almost careful of booby traps, Silence walked towards his Bookshelves and began rummaging, its mind obviously set on a single idea for a Library that would somehow improve Rhett's dark existence. In a fit of excitement as a successful search, Silence pulled out a slim book, its leather having been worn down from decades of use, or decades of compacted dust, Rhett wasn't sure which.

Silence walked over towards the small book lying open on the floor, and shut it lovingly. As it did, the image on the door faded away until the dark landscape that resided behind it shown, the light the pathway held fading along with it until the single candle on the far table was the only light in the room. Opening the new book Silence possessed, Rhett gazed in wonder as a stream of indiscernible color shot towards the wall gap, the force of which caused the walking book to stumble backwards a bit.

On the doorway Rhett stared as an old cobblestone pathway was shown with stores on either side, at the end of the block a small sign hung out which read "Treville's Hotel". People in old style clothing were standing completely still in the image, one lady in particular frozen right as a pile of rolls fell from her arms. He couldn't help but smile as the stream stopped and the loud sound of rushing wind ceased. "Shall we proceed to the French country side my lad?" Silence asked, satisfied with the look of awe on his new friends face.

As the two walked through the image, Rhett let his body relax. _Maybe if I don't fight it then it will…_ Just as easy as walking through a blow drier Rhett witnessed as the paths of the people became apparent. The woman collapsed to the ground in a feeble attempt to grab her rolls before they hit the hard footing which she had previously hopelessly relied on for footing. The whole world was a buzz with life and happiness.

Turning to Silence as the two walked down the road towards the hotel, Rhett silently said "Thank you for this."

"Twas my pleasure my owner" Silence replied with a slightly prideful tone. Rhett was thrown off his guard.

"What do you mean your owner?" He asked suspiciously and this time louder.

"Well… I mean… well you read the history of… I am positive that…"

"That what? That I'm going to be your partner? Let me get this straight, I will NOT get a partner. The only reason I'm doing this is so that I can get back home. Besides that, I don't even like books." Rhett said with an angry tone, saying exactly what he wanted to in order to cause the most amount of pain.

"…At least you know this is real!" Silence said in an attempt to find the silver-lining, "And I promise that by the end of this journey you will find joy in reading and we will be partners" The confidence in the second part made Rhett quiver with fright. _How is it possible he could know that?_ Was his only thought before the large wooden door was slowly opened to reveal the inner workings of the lobby of a hotel.

A large desk ran along the left wall, the lone boy standing behind it shocked at the sight he took in, not of a teenage boy but of the rather large walking book accompanying the lad. For the most part the room was empty. Faded velvet couches rested underneath large glass windows whilst the wooden floor under their feet creaked of old age with every wary step taken upon them. At one of the four small tables sat three men, long brimmed hats covering dark complexions resting upon fabric of blue and gold, signifying some form of elite operation.

Rhett seemed glued to the floor for some reason as Silence approached the three figures without hesitation. _He's gonna get himself killed! Look at those three monsters and look at him! They're gonna stab him straight through!_ Silence walked over to one of them and slapped him on the back, the obvious shock was seen both by the shock on the other two's faces and the fact that the one that was slapped jumped up in surprise and drew out his sword.

The air was as stale as old bread. No one dared to say anything for what seemed like an eternity. Silence, who had also drawn his sword, glared at this new threat, neither one willing to give the other ground for fear that would be the last thing they ever did. The other two men stood and stared at Rhett, who felt uncomfortable with how the entire situation felt. A slight twitch in the arm caused Silences sword to waver slightly, and at that the silence was broken by a low yet reserved voice.

"That would have cost you your life my friend." The man said as a smirk filled his face.

"Aramis, you always were one to point out my faults." Silence replied with a similar facial expression as he simultaneously sheathed his weapon with his once thought of enemy.

"Come Silence, grab some wine and tell us who your friend is" Came one of the other men, his voice much more exuberant and almost humorous.

"Actually Porthos, we are in a rush and in need of help." Silence said quickly, raising one hand to stop a maid-servant that had begun approaching the table, then motioned for Rhett to stand with them. "Friends, as I have confided in you, the Land of the Books is being destroyed. This, my friends, is the boy from the prophecy." In that instant, all eyes fell upon Rhett. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up so straight he thought that his already long hair had grown another inch or two.

"Well greetings," The last man said, a hand was outstretched which swayed from side to side, an obvious sign that the man had drunken a few too many. This brought out the masculinity of his voice, his broad shoulders showing him as the somewhat "leader", "Athos, at your service. If you two are in need of anything, we will be willing to help, no matter the calling." Rhett took his hand and thought he would lose his, the man's grip so strong it was as if two cinderblocks had been dropped on either side of his palms.

"Thank you brother." Silence put his hands on Athos', seeing the pain Rhett was experiencing. The hand almost instantly shot backwards at the realization of what was going on. "The problem I wish to present to you gentlemen is one that concerns the entire world of literature. While this boy is the one foretold of, he will have no chance of freeing us from enslavement if he is not able to defend himself."

At that comment, the three men gathered there things, Athos taking one last swig from his already almost empty drink. "If it's training you want then it's training you'll get my lad." Porthos spoke directly to Rhett, who made him feel slightly more comfortable.

"But come, we must keep quiet. The loft is a few blocks down and we must watch out for the Cardinal's Guards." Aramis said as the five warriors stepped out the front door onto the street they had just retreated from. As fast as they could, the men ran down the road, Rhett's curiosity taking him to the point where he glanced at the doorway which had remained intact, still showing the inside of the Library.

"Silence, why don't the people walking around walk through the door?" Rhett gasped as he was already worn out from the exercise.

"That path is only visible to outsiders. Not even our friends here can see it." As he had spoken this the three men slunk into a doorway and ran up a flight of stairs through another door. Rhett had to struggle to make it up them and was surprised to find that the weak looking walkway made no sign of age whatsoever. "Few know the truth of what lies beyond."

Silence slowly said to finish his explanation before Rhett opened the door to reveal a large, empty room with two windows on the opposite end. The only sort of additions made to the room were two wooden barrels which held daggers stabbed into them and swords and spears stacked inside. The entire area stank of mildew and dried blood, no doubt from the three trainers.

"Welcome, my boy, to your home for the time being." And Athos was right. Over the next week Rhett did not set foot outside that room. There were constant courses on fencing, blocking, spear use, attack techniques, dagger throwing, and numerous other techniques. It was exhausting his body and his mind to take in all this training in such a short amount of time, all the while not knowing what he would have to do with this new knowledge, praying he would not have to kill anything.

On the seventh day Rhett had been fighting against both Porthos and Athos, with Aramis and Silence standing on the sidelines offering suggestion. Rhett had gotten to the point where he had memorized the fighting styles of the two men. _It may not be fair and I may not be learning anything but that doesn't really matter so long as I kick their…_

He had no time to finish the thought as Athos swung his wooden sword in a downward arc towards Rhett's head. The speed was off due to a quick run to the pub which allowed Rhett to easily block the strike then throw it to the side. As he shifted momentum to deal the final tap to "kill" Athos, Porthos jumped in, his energy apparent as he spun his practice sword around the tip of Rhett's, causing him to become slightly disoriented.

Just as he knew would happen, Porthos attempted to sneak in a jab at Rhett's heart. Rhett jumped to the side and quickly brought his sword down upon the exposed arm of his attacker, then swung slowly to the right in order to land the tap to defeat his opponent. Seeing his defeat as fair, Athos stepped away, leaving the remaining two combatants to duke it out for the victory. A small glimmer of happiness etched its way across Rhett's face.

Athos wasted no time in attacking, and caught the trainee off guard. A solid blow landed across his back, the weapon not having been held back to have more "teaching power" as they called it. The other three suddenly exploded in laughter and applause at the sudden victory. Rhett bowed to Athos and vice versa, and then Aramis walked forward with his own practice sword.

"You can't allow yourself to be caught off guard like that. Always be looking for the next chance to die, and then avoid it. If you had turned around half a second sooner you would have been able to do exactly what you did to dear Porthos." There was a small sign of embarrassment at the mention of this sudden victory. Rhett could still feel the welt stinging on his back, but had learned that bringing it up only brings more pain.

"Thank you so much my brothers." Silence said to the three Musketeers. "I can't tell you how much even I have learned. However, I think we have reached the point where we must depart. Our journey calls us elsewhere at this time."

"As you wish dear friend, but first we would like to grant one gift to our student, if it pleases you?" Athos said, Silence responding with a shrug of indifference. The three men walked over towards one of the barrels and brought out a brown cloth that covered something. The three brought it forward, Silence pushing Rhett to his knees as he was surrounded by the men.

Athos stood in front of the boy as he spoke the words, "Rhett Samuels. By the power vested in us as Musketeers of the Guard, we appoint thee as an honorary protector of truth and light. Take this weapon and use it to battle your greatest enemies." At this the cover was removed to reveal a long silver sword with a golden colored hilt and red hand coloring. The blade was embossed with long, slithery designs which curled and twisted.

As soon as Rhett grabbed the sword the wooden door burst open, and in a rush four men who resembled the musketeers except red in color marched in, swords drawn, standing at the ready. The four Musketeers and Silence all stood ready as well, swords drawn and prepared for battle. Just as Aramis was about to leap forward, a voice sounded on the stairs. "Did you really think you could hide for long?"

A man walked up in an extravagant red uniform, his sword hilt swirling with twisted metal, his boots embedded with silver emblems and patches, his large hat holding a long and wide white feather. "I told you I would find you!"

"And we told you we would kill you!" Porthos yelled out as he leaped with a jab towards the man. In that moment the room exploded in violence. Rhett, confused by the mass hysteria, attempted a dash at the door, but was blocked by one of the soldiers. Getting in a ready stance, Rhett nervously saw his sword wobble from his hands shaking. The soldier jabbed at Rhett, who swung his blade down like a pendulum to throw the attack to the side. Using his elbow, he slammed into the man's face, hearing a distinct pop.

"You should have taken him out boy!" Screamed Silence, who, at that very moment, had leapt over a low slice and, midair, swung his sword so it sliced the jugular of his opponent, who crumpled to the ground. Shivers took over Rhett's body as he witnessed the sight. "Watch yourself!"

Rhett swung around a barely blocked a slice at his back, very similar to his practice fight defeat from earlier. The two men were locked in combat, and Rhett was able to stare into the eyes of his assailant. That anger which seemed to emanate from his very being shook Rhett to the bone, but he saw his opportunity. The man lifted his foot to get the upper hand in this standoff, so Rhett pushed with all his might.

Everything after that was a blur for the young hero. The man fell to the ground, sword flailing away from him. Rhett took one step forward and stabbed into the ground, feeling the resistance his enemies body put into the blow. Before he realized what had happened Rhett stared into those eyes once more as the last glimmers of an unfulfilled life left them.

Suddenly, every bad feeling he had had from the week before returned. Every doubt and saddened thought filled his very being until he felt he could take no more. Just at the very brink of torture a cold hand gripped his shoulder and turned him to look directly in the warm eyes of a friend. "We need to leave now!" Silence yelled as he pulled Rhett away from the remaining six fighters, running towards a window.

The two jumped, and fell for a very short time. The hard landing was made louder by their weapons clobbering to the ground. Two guards turned at this noise and slowly made the connection that these two people were in league with the Musketeers they had been sent to capture. The chase was afoot and Rhett ran as fast as he could down the street. Something was wrong though.

Looking down, he realized Silence was far behind him, about to be caught. Save your neck or save your mentor? He contemplated quickly, then turned and scooped the book onto his back. The run was all the more tiring with this added baggage but as he leapt through the pathway to the Library, Silence jumped off and shut the small story the world had come from, a peace filling the room that gave Rhett more goose bumps than those black eyes that seemed to sputter out of existence at his cruel form of malice towards another being.

Next Chapter: Burning Ring Of Fire


	6. Burning Ring Of Fire

Chapter 5: Burning Ring Of Fire

The thick darkness of the library was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The only light that lit the room came in dark crimson flashes from the mountainous scene outside the small hut-like building as fire rained in the distance. That explains why everything is dead though Rhett as he rolled over on the hard ground. Thinking back to his home, Rhett was greeted with the warm feeling of his blankets, their simple security holding him during those long nights of emotional turmoil; His mother's cleanliness offering a safe-haven from his muck-filled life; His father's strong voice ringing out for the world to hear as he sang along to "Wanted Dead Or Alive". _It's funny, I've never really thought about how nice home was…I still hate that stupid smile mom gets when I say 'yes' to something but still…nice_ he thought.

Silence rolled over very loudly, his long, drawn-out moan breaking the subtle peace Rhett had acquired through his momentary mediation. The whole scene came back to him as even more of a shock than it had before. Quickly sitting up, Rhett looked towards the small table against the far wall, the lamp hanging over it put out to avoid any possible communication between the Lectros and The Pagemaster as to their location. Leaning against the table rested Rhett's sword, a gift from his Musketeer comrades, its blade glimmering in the low-light.

Rhett lie back down and shut his eyes, but the moment he did so a vision rushed into his mind. It showed tens of thousands of books being marched towards a large stack of books with an extremely small opening, all led by Satires who prodded them while hurling insults. A small book, no larger than ten pages, cried in the crowd for its mother, only to be picked up by a Lectro just as the mother ran over. Rhett watched in horror as the Satire lifted the young child into the air and dropped it to its death, all the while the mother screamed for her baby.

Rhett sat up in a cold sweat, his legs and hands were shaking. For some odd reason he had been struck with a combination of fear and anger. Anger towards any who wished harm on these poor creatures; anger towards the one who started this infernal mess, but also fear towards him; fear of his power, of his malice.

Rhett wiped his forehead then looked once more at his sword. It almost glowed with what seemed like a purpose. He looked down at his hands and felt almost guilty, _I'm the chosen one. I am here to free these things and I've been screwing around. When am I gonna actually do something about it?_

Almost immediately Rhett stood up and softly walked over to the table so as to not wake his resting companion. He slipped on his shoes then tied the scabbard around his waist. Lifting the sword to eye level, he examined the elegant details of the craftsmanship. _It's an amazing piece of work, but now it will serve its purpose _he thought as he sheathed the sword then slowly but surely walked towards the door to the dreaded landscape ahead.

Standing at the door, Rhett turned around and looked at the sleeping book. "I'm doing this for you Silence," and with that he was off. As he took his first few steps out the door he automatically noticed the terrible smell of burning and of soot. The ground was more treacherous than he remembered from his first time traversing it, although the last time he did have his adrenaline in hyper drive. Every few steps he would step on a long dead piece of plant life, snapping it promptly in two.

As the house got further and further away Rhett began noticing how cold it had gotten. It was strange feeling this alone even though he felt he had only been traveling for just a short while, but then he stopped. A feeling of utter dread filled the air just as a low whining sound filled his ears that slowly grew in intensity until it forced him to his knees in agony. The noise was unbearable and it took every ounce of strength not to tear his ears right from his head, although his voice worked wonders as he screamed out. Just as he was about to give up a circle of crimson light formed around him on the ground, brightening quickly until it was so bright Rhett slammed his head to the ground, only to find the previous rough stone floor had been replaced by a smooth one.

With the ringing and light suddenly gone, Rhett looked up to see a large cavernous area with walls, floors and ceilings formed from stone books, just as Silence's home. The air had a dull red light about it almost as if from imaginary torches on their last length of life.

Rhett sat up and examined himself. Everything seemed to be just fine except for the fact that he had no idea where he was. Putting his hand on his sword as a way to mentally counteract the ever growing feeling of despair he took one slow step forward. Scarcely had his foot touched the ground when two red and black swirling orbs formed in the air, spinning in place until two Lectros emerged from the abyss, both staring straight at Rhett.

"Come quietly boy…" the one on the right said in an almost witch like tone that chilled Rhett to the bone.

"…And we promise not to kill you." the second chimed in obviously just to annoy the first one. This one looked as if some of its pages had been ripped out because its large spine countered its small width.

"Wh….wh….wh…." Rhett tried to say, but shock took his vocal cords just like feline quadrupeds take tongues.

"Where are you? You're in The Pagemaster's Keep, home to Lord Blaine, ruler of all the lands! Saver of our people! Redeemer of the balance of…." The battered book said before it was interrupted.

"Oh pipe down! Otherwise we won't get as much of a reward!" The witch spoke up. The two nodded at each other and hovered towards Rhett, eyes lacking any form of expression, tongues licking large fangs that seemed like rebar in an unfinished foundation. Rhett, frightened by this sight, unsheathed his sword and swung horizontally at the two. Just as his blade was about to strike the first, everything froze. His arm was stuck in the air, but the two Lectros had ceased to move.

"I knew you would come. I know you will die." A loud voice boomed through the entire cave like structure. It caught Rhett off guard, but unable to move his body to examine where the sound originated from, he was forced to watch as the tip of his sword began to melt away into nothing which followed down to his arm. His breathing becoming erratic, Rhett used all his might in an attempt to move his body as immense pain accompanied the missing limbs, but found it was feeble as the wave of disintegration moved throughout his entire body, ending with his eyes.

The pain was enormous. The pain was everywhere. The pain was too much for him to take, so the second his body became completely engulfed was the second he blacked out completely. His mind raced to images of his mother, father, sister and Silence. He thought of how his death had come to quickly, of how he had failed to save the people, of how he would miss everyone and everything.

When the darkness faded he found himself in a circular room. Torches along the walls were the only light source, and were a dull one at that. On the floor lay a rug of simply exquisite design that spread along the entire floor. The design on the giant placemat appeared to be that of fire, brimstone, dragons, lions, eagles, and a woman standing in the center. A large wooden desk sat at the farthest wall from the door directly behind Rhett; to either side of him were paintings, all of one man…

"Surprised? I certainly am. I never thought you would have survived the initial journey. It takes a man of real power to survive that." An almost adult voice came from a chair that spun around, revealing a man sitting with his fingers touching inquisitively on his lips. He stared at Rhett with bright brown eyes that looked more amber than anything.

"Blaine." Rhett spoke in a low, angry tone at the realization of who had controlled these past events.

"Ah, so you do have a brain!" Blaine spoke as he stood up and ran his fingers through his short shaggy hair, not even long enough to be in his eyes, "I was worried my next victim would be a 'tard!"

Rhett couldn't hold back his anger any more. In one single motion he unsheathed his sword and leapt at Blaine in a downward strike. To an untrained fighter, this attack would have been unblockable, but Blaine leapt easily to the side of the attack, hands behind his back the entire time and kicked his foe to the ground like he flicked a fly. "You see boy, you cannot beat me. I control the elements," At this he held his hands out and two orbs formed in either hand, one of fire, ice, lighting and what appeared to be wind, that floated around each other quickly, "I control the population, but most of all, I control the world. You don't stand a chance against me."

Blaine turned around and began walking away, so Rhett leaped up once more with the same attack, this time however Blaine turned around. The balls he had conjured had disappeared and had been replaced by a staff that held the image of an open book cast in gold at the tip, which he used to block the attack. "I will free this land, you will not win!" Rhett was launched backwards, sliding to a stop.

Blaine leapt forward, attempting a jab at his foe's heart, only to find the boy had slid to the side of the attack, getting ready to attack his exposed side. Swinging his staff sideways, he dealt a solid blow to the forehead to his enemy, who stumbled backwards just enough to allow another quick jab at his chest. The attack his as well, but wasn't enough to do much damage because as Rhett was hit he rolled with the staff so he was standing directly to the side of Blaine.

Attempting to slice sideways, he found his strike hit empty air. Looking up, he discovered Blaine flying through the air as if he had wings. It was hauntingly beautiful, that is until he stopped flying quickly to hover in the air, offering enough time to shoot a jet of fire at Rhett. With little cover, he attempted to roll out of the way but the heat was so tremendous he felt his clothes singed to the greatest degree.

When he stood up from his roll the short burst of flame had ceased but was no replaced by a strong gust of wind that threw Rhett backwards, slamming against the wall and rolling onto the floor beneath. Muscles aching, head throbbing, Rhett tried to stand up but was stopped by four sheets of ice that held his hands and feet to the ground. "LET ME UP YOU…."

"Woah now, why don't we cool down so I can explain everything to you before you die." Blaine said softly in that adult tone as he slowly floated to the ground. The Pagemaster staff dissolving into dozens of small blue lights that slowly faded from existence.

"What are you talking about? You imprisoned the books and…"

"Will you please!" Blaine screamed to silence the boy, which worked quite well. "I speak of the prophecy. The one that says that one day a boy will come to save this world, and he shall be divinely chosen."

"Ya, so."

"Don't you think it odd your name being what it is, Rhett Samuels?"

Shock and terror filled Rhett's mind as it raced so fast it could win the Daytona Five Hundred in six seconds flat without a pit stop. "How… how the hell do you know my name?"

"Think about it, a boy with your name being the chosen one. Ironic is it not?" Rhett stared at Blaine with a questioning look that obviously did not give him the satisfaction he wished for. "You mean you haven't realized yet! Wow, you must be a 'tard!" Summoning a jet of fire he burned the name "rhett samuels" into the wall. "Now look at what happens when I do this," and as he said that he wrote over it so that it read, "RhETt SAMuels".

"So what?" Rhett honestly didn't get it, but sudden shock filled his blood stream like heroin as Blaine wrote directly underneath it "MASTER".

"You see! You have been chosen since you were born to do this, there is no escaping your fate. You will die here, along with the others." At this he waved his hand and the earth from the wall around Rhett's name fell to reveal names that read "DESten TRelvOYER", "ROn proIVASon", and "ROy TuCkEt conThORP" among others. "You are not special, you are not unique, you are the same as the rest of them. All chosen to die".

Blaine raised his hand so it held a large ball of lightning that cackled and fizzed in his hand so much that his hair stood up from the static. Rhett, too shocked at this sight of so many dead heroes that seemed to be too innumerable to count and the fact that this was not a happen chance thing, failed to notice that his imminent demise was close as hand. "Goodbye 'master'. Say hello to the rest of them for me!"

Just about to bring his hand down on the stunned boy, a large ruckus was heard outside the single door. Steel on steel and creatures screaming out in what seemed like pain could be heard very distinctly, so much so that the handheld thunderstorm was collapsed in on itself for the time to allow a proper investigation. As he walked closer to the door, leaving Rhett to lie there, it burst open. Door fragments flew everywhere and smacked The Pagemaster in the head, knocking him cold.

From the rubble emerged Silence, his sword glittered with scarlet blood. Examining the room, he found Rhett still lying on the floor, his ice cuffs having melted from their master no longer holding their solidic form in this immense heat. Running over, he lifted the boy so he sat up.

"Aye, how doest thou do?" His familiar voice woke Rhett from his emotional slumber. He shot a gaze at Silence then grabbed onto him like he has never grabbed anyone before, not even his mother. "No need to get emotional lad. However, we must leave this dreaded place… Quickly!" When this was said Silence opened a small library he had, the doorway that opened appeared to be the inside of the small cabin like home they had been staying in.

"But, how will you get back?" Rhett wasn't sure if he wanted to leave the person who had saved his life from absolute death. The dread of leaving was almost as much and that for the boys and for the books.

"I can traverse this pagescape faster than you could on horseback with a two day head start. I will meet you there in two days. Until then, do not leave that room. Do not attempt to come look for me because I will be ok. Do not open any Libraries. You never know where they'll go."

"I can't leave you. I won't!"

"You must. You are far more important than I could hope to be!" All of this was said extremely quickly, but not quickly enough as through the doorway and down the stairs there was heard a treacherous sound of screaming battle cries and threats from what sounded like an army of approaching Lectros. "Quickly! You must leave! Wait for me! I shall return!" Silence ran behind Rhett and pushed him through the door. When he fell through as easy as nothing he hit the floor hard, having fallen from the door which came from the ceiling.

Instantly turning around and reaching upward to climb back through, Rhett yelled, "SILENCE!" just as the path dissolved away as fast as a snake strikes.

Silence filled the empty room, although he was nowhere to be seen.

Next Chapter: Behold The Darkness


End file.
